There are new PTG photos coming from Ray Cunningham's recent trip to the DPRk. His flickr page is HERE and I will post the TG pics in this thread as they become available.
He shared some insight into NK with me recently, and with permission I relay a few of his observations:

Photography of the Traffic Girls – The guides I had were fascinated by my interest in the traffic girls so they assisted me. By the end of the tour the guides (KWP members) were having me holler out to them as we passed them. Of course I didn’t exactly know what I said in Korean but I think it was on the order of “I Love you”

They are shy as I photographed at a few locations and saw different ones after a shift change. I did see them laugh and giggle while hanging out under a tree. The stern look was from one of them seemed to be in reaction to photography but others seemed flattered. It varies and Koreans in general are more shy than the Chinese who are used to photography.

Stills work best for the traffic girls. I love the eerie sound of the propaganda speakers on video but I prefer stills timed to their stopped movements. It is a form of ballet that will be gone someday. Some photos I have are blurred by movement but many turn out.

There is a school for training traffic girls. I was told that they go to school and are chosen for looks but the story that KJI chooses them struck the guides as absurd. It is an honor to be chosen to do the work but it is an occupation. I should have asked if ever any girl has been killed on duty. It is my belief that they are not on duty after dark. Men with lit vests are on duty. It is really dark in Pyongyang without street lights. I saw one dead pedestrian on the south side of town one evening.

He's also hoping to arrange a photoshoot at the Trafficgirl school next year, which would be really interesting and something to look forward to - I just hope the NK authorities agree to it.

Click on the pictures to see the flickr page, and for larger sizes.



I like this one - two PTGs, a shift change, a night shot and on the new podiums.


more to come

Here's some more ..... click on the picture to see larger sizes



also check out his photo page for all pics of the DPRK trip. http://www.flickr.com/photos/zaruka/

at least they will stay dry

Despite how silly those things seem, it does increase the visibility of the traffic girls, so it must make them feel a lot safer. Of course the "Dear Leader" claims all the credit for this idea.

Why aren't these platforms/podiums decorated with propaganda of the Dear Leader????

Here's 19 more PTG pics from Ray, the latest uploads - Click on thumbnail to see larger picture.









flickr page tons of DPRK photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/zaruka/

I think it would be cool if the circle in the middle of the platform could rotate as to the direction the traffic girl needs to face in order to direct traffic.

This question is unrelated, but does Pyongyang have sewers? I see no drains at the corners and the streets don't seem to taper off at the sides, indicating there is no place for water run-off. What happens to the streets during a rain storm?